One out of three Asian American and Pacific Islander senior citizens are ineligible to receive social security benefits, reports the Florida Courier.
That’s an incredibly high number, especially when compared to the one out of 10 elderly who are ineligible in the general population.
Many worked in jobs in which they were paid in cash, meaning neither they or their employers made contributions to the social security system.
A 2011 report from the Insight Center says those Asian retirees who do receive social security benefits often worked in lower paying jobs.
As a result, the average benefit check for AAPI seniors is $13,066 a year. That’s $2,000 less than average.
Native Hawaiian seniors receive less than half that of other senior citizens from Hawaii, including other Asians.
Cultural and language barriers often make Asian seniors hesitant to apply for benefits, according to the Insight Center.
Other minorities are also likely to receive less likely to receive social security benefits.
You can read more about that in the Florida Courier.
Re: Many Asian American seniors ineligle for social security: Think that if Asian elders don’t live in large metro cities, it might be possible because there is a lack of social services in their native languages. On the other hand, perhaps the ethnic press needs to do a better job getting the word out about social security benefits in areas like Florida & elsewhere. Almost everywhere I have gone where there are Asian communities, there are copies of ethnic newspapers.